ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro is all-in on continuing to make the network the leading source of sports news, and the company is committed to investing in journalism.
Speaking at the IMG Summit in London last week, Pitaro said there’s no room for error when it comes to reporting.
“Quality journalism has never been more of a priority at ESPN,” Pitaro said via The Athletic. “I really do believe we’re the place of record. When something happens in the sports industry, people look to ESPN. We have to get it right, we can’t get it wrong.”
Pitaro recognized there’s an immense level of trust in the work ESPN journalists do, and what’s most important to him is that his people are present and able to get the facts and get them correct. Breaking news before anyone else is great, but it’s not the end goal.
“We like to be first but don’t need to be first,” he said. “We have to get it right.”
“Enterprise journalism, investigative reporting, incredibly important to us,” Pitaro added. “We have a fantastic team out there that’s breaking news. There’s always been a question how important it is to ESPN, especially with its league relationships and as rights fees get more expensive, is it sustainable to be breaking news that is sometimes not flattering to partners? It’s a huge part of our DNA, investigative reporting. We are not going to be pulling back there at all.”
